1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink purge apparatus, an ink purging method, a nozzle wiping apparatus and a wiping method in a printer using hot-melt ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of a method for purging a print head using hot-melt solid ink include: a method in which an ink chamber of the print head is pressurized to discharge ink from an orifice; and a method in which a suction unit is pressed against an orifice to suck ink from the orifice directly. As the ink chamber pressurizing method, a method in which waste ink is sucked by a sheet of wiping paper is employed in manufactured articles. On the other hand, as the orifice suction method, there is a method described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei 4-111149.
In the orifice suction method, however, a surface of the orifice may be stained with ink when the ink is sucked from the orifice or ink may be spilled around the head when the ink is discarded.